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L&J Cafe is one of 20 Texas restaurants up for the title of Best Tex-Mex in the state in a USA Reader's Choice poll.

Restaurant owners ask others join meal-providing efforts

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L&J Cafe owner Leo A. Duran Sr., center, at a Friday news conference in his restaurant asks that more El Paso restaurants join in helping immigrant shelters. Martin Rios, owner of The Lunch Box restaurant, is on the left and Ruben Garcia, executive director of Annunciation House, is on the right.(Photo: Daniel Borunda/El Paso Times)Buy Photo

El Paso restaurateur Leo A. Duran Sr. has fed guests at the famous L&J Cafe for decades, but feeding migrants at a local shelter recently felt like a blessing, he said.

Duran and other restaurant owners on Friday put out a call asking for more restaurants, caterers, church groups and others to help provide meals at temporary migrant shelters in El Paso and Las Cruces.

The shelters are housing a large influx of asylum-seeking Central American migrants released in El Paso after they're processed by U.S. immigration authorities.

The migrants stay in the shelters run by churches and other groups a few days before making their way to their intended destinations in the United States.

"I bear witness to the great desperation of these families. They are very humble, in-need individuals," Duran said at a news conference at his restaurant.

"And I for one — our business for one — cannot and will not let them go hungry or anyone else that seeks help," he said.

'We are truly blessed'

Last week, Duran and his wife provided dinner to 60 to 70 men, women and children at a tent set up as a dining hall in the parking lot of an El Paso motel housing migrants.

"It was so impressive. They united in prayer, they formed a circle and they held hands and gave thanks. We are truly blessed," Duran said, explaining that he was moved by the experience.

“What really touched my heart was seeing the children," he said. "When I got into my car — my wife and I went in separate vehicles — I, as a grown man, broke down. At that moment something had happened. It was a calling."

Marisa Limon, left, of the Hope Border Institute, Ruben Garcia of Annunciation House, immigration lawyer Carlos Spector and Fernando Garcia of the Border Network for Human Rights, as well as other Borderland organizations, held a news conference Thursday morning to announce that they stand firmly against hateful and dishonest rhetoric and the further militarization of the border. RUBEN R. RAMIREZ/EL PASO TIMES

A recently released immigrant wears an ankle bracelet used to track migrants who have been released from federal custody. The migrant was at an El Paso motel awaiting transportation to be united with relatives. RUBEN R. RAMIREZ/EL PASO TIMES

Duran has been joined in providing meals by the owners of other El Paso restaurants: Los Bandidos de Carlos & Mickey's, The Lunch Box and Delicious Mexican Eatery.

There is no political agenda in helping, Duran said. "It's a humanitarian issue."

There are many children and many needs at the shelters, West-Central city Rep. Alexsandra Annello said at the news conference.

“We are asking the community to come out and understand what is happening here," she said.

2,100 arrivals in a week

The shelters, called temporary hospitality centers, are dependent on the donation of meals, said Ruben Garcia, executive director of Annunciation House, an El Paso immigrant shelter coordinating area assistance efforts.

"This week we’re on target to receive about 2,100 refugees that are then being housed in the temporary hospitality centers both in Las Cruces and in the El Paso area," Garcia said.

People wishing to help are asked to call ahead and not simply show up at a shelter, Garcia said. Residents should not drop off donations without first calling. He added that shelters are currently overwhelmed with donated clothing.

To coordinate meals, contact Annunciation House via email at refugees@annunciationhouse.org. Checks made out to Annunciation House can be mailed to Annunciation House, 815 Myrtle Ave. El Paso, Texas 79901.

Daniel Borunda may be reached at 546-6102; dborunda@elpasotimes.com; @BorundaDaniel on Twitter.